silicone gel

taylorlej

i am about to do my 1st tour - i was watching that man who cycled the world program and saw he was using silicone gel for saddle sores - has anyone used this - does it work, where do u get it from - how is it sold cos no-one in the pharmacies seems to know what im talking about.

cheers
Laurence

priory

http://www.skinsite.com/info_silicone_gel.htm

i think you are being extremely pessimistic. If you keep that area clean, wash your shorts pad daily and apply a ml of e45 or something like it to the pad surface, lift off the saddle at every opportunity right from the start and have reasonable quality shorts with a broad pad you will have no problem of the beaumont sort.

tJ

daviddd

Although I suffered for months with saddle sores in my recently-completed tour of Oz, I hadn't ever had this problem before, and they were caused by the development of a boil. Maybe this explanation isn't for the fainthearted, but the boil developed a few days after I'd suffered a bout of diaorrhea; according to the hospital there was possibly an ingrowing hair or some skin abrasion, in either case leading to bacteria getting into the bloodstream/ tissues. Because I was riding for up to 6 hours a day most days there was ample opportunity to get infected even though I washed shorts every day. I had also applied Savlon to my nether bits every morning, but still got a boil. This boil eventually healed up with penicyllin but left scar tissue that was prone to rubbing so the sores continued for months. Riding every days gives no chance for healing up.
The moral? Well, I would now apply Savlon / antiseptic cream more than once a day, and disinfect shorts too, as well as being painstakingly thourough about washing with antiseptic soap. These sores made a misery of some days and I wouldn't like to go through it again.
A good treatment if you do get sores is an antiseptic cream containing iodine - in Australia they had one called Betadine which I found very good.

priory

I must add this: do not get savlon , let alone iodine, near your anus. Even if you think you have not, the sweat may take it there.
I once had to spend the lunch break in the sea. I don't know what I'd have done inland.